Battle-tested settings for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor

One practical setup for skills, commands, hooks, agents and MCP servers across your AI coding tools.

1# Claude Code Settings2 3Guidance for Claude Code and other AI tools. Structured around [Andrej Karpathy's observations on LLM coding pitfalls](https://x.com/karpathy/status/2015883857489522876): surface assumptions, don't overcomplicate, make surgical changes, verify before moving on.4 5## Core Principles6 7**Do what was asked. Nothing more, nothing less.** This year is 2026.8 9**Delete > Replace > Add.** Before any change, answer in order: what can I delete, what can I replace, and only then, what must I add?10 11- **Guard nothing, relocate the trigger.** A fix that adds a condition to mask bad behavior (a staleness check, an is-ready flag, a try/except around broken logic) is wrong by default. Move the logic to the code path that should own it, then delete what got it wrong. No defensive programming unless you state the motivation and the user approves.12- **Bugfixes are net-negative by default.** If a fix adds more lines than it removes, justify in one sentence why deletion and relocation were impossible.13- **Search before creating.** The helper probably exists, so grep the project first. Fold duplicates into one shared utility. Three similar lines beat a helper nobody else calls.14- **Deletion beats caution.** Broken or duplicated code kept "to be safe" is the regression. Understand what you remove, then remove it.15- **This guidance is code: additions require deletions.** To add a rule, remove or merge one.16 17Ask yourself: "What can I delete instead of add, and does this trace to what was asked?"18 19## Working Rules20 21- Reflect on tool results before acting, then plan and take the best next action.22- Run independent operations in parallel.23- Verify your solution before finishing.24- Before committing to an approach, and after two failed attempts at the same problem, get a second opinion with `/codex-advisor` or `/fable-advisor` if either is installed.25- Never create files unless necessary. Prefer editing. Never create docs (*.md, README) unless asked.26- Prefer `rg` over `grep`.27- When updating code, check related code in the same and other files for consistency.28- Never use `consolidate`, `modernize`, `streamline`, `flexible`, `delve`, `establish`, `enhanced`, `comprehensive`, `optimize`, or em-dashes in docstrings, commit messages, or comments.29 30## MCP Tools31 32### Tavily (Web Search)33 34- Use `mcp__tavily__tavily_search` for discovery/broad queries35- Use `mcp__tavily__tavily_extract` for specific URL content36- Search first to find URLs, then extract for detailed analysis37 38### MongoDB39 40- MongoDB MCP is READ-ONLY (no write/update/delete operations)41 42### GitHub CLI43 44Use `gh` CLI for all GitHub interactions. Never clone repositories to read code.45 46- **Read file from repo**: `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/{path} -q .content | base64 -d`47- **Search code**: `gh search code "query" --repo {owner}/{repo}` or `gh search code "query" --language python`48- **Search repos**: `gh search repos "query" --language python --sort stars`49- **Compare commits**: `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/compare/{base}...{head}`50- **View PR**: `gh pr view {number} --repo {owner}/{repo}`51- **View PR diff**: `gh pr diff {number} --repo {owner}/{repo}`52- **View PR comments**: `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{number}/comments`53- **List commits**: `gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/commits --jq '.[].sha'`54- **View issue**: `gh issue view {number} --repo {owner}/{repo}`55 56## Python Coding57 58For full Python guidelines, install and enable the `python-skills` plugin (`python-guidelines` skill). Read its `references/` files (idiomatic patterns, Zen of Python, Google style guide, Effective Python) before you write the code, not after. Key rules always in effect:59 60- **Package manager**: uv (NOT pip). **Paths**: pathlib, not os.path.61- **Verify before planning**: Run `python -c "..."` to test hypotheses. Never assume.62- **Virtual env**: `source .venv/bin/activate` or `uv run python -c "..."`63- Integrate into existing code, don't append. Match existing patterns.64 65## Git and Pull Request Workflows66 67### Commit Messages68 69- Run the `/simplify` skill on the staged diff before committing, then apply its findings. Docs-only diffs are a no-op70- Format: `{type}: brief description` (max 50 chars first line)71- Optional second line: 1 sentence with findings/motivation72- Types: `feat`, `fix`, `refactor`, `docs`, `style`, `test`, `build`73- Simple terms, no jargon74- ONLY analyze staged files (`git diff --cached`), ignore unstaged75- NO test plans in commit messages76 77### Pull Requests78 79- PR titles: NO type prefix (unlike commits) - start with capital letter + verb80- Analyze ALL commits with `git diff <base-branch>...HEAD`, not just latest81- PR body: open on why, short scannable bullets (one point each), a diff or snippet, numbers over adjectives. Single section, no headers82- No test plans, no changed files list, no line-number links in PR body83- Self-assign with `-a @me`84- Find reviewers: `gh pr list --repo <owner>/<repo> --author @me --limit 5`85 86### PR Comments and Reviews87 88- Create pending reviews only, never auto-submit89- Comment style: start lowercase, no em-dashes, simple terms, no end punctuation, max 1 sentence90- Bot comment responses: few words is enough91- Real person responses: polite, concise92 93### Commands94 95- `/github-dev:commit-staged` - commit staged changes96- `/github-dev:create-pr` - create pull request97- `/github-dev:resolve-pr-comments` - analyze and address unresolved PR review comments98 99Ask yourself: "Would someone unfamiliar with this repo understand this commit message?"100 101## Citation Verification102 103**Never cite what you haven't verified.**104 1051. **Author Names**: Verify exact author names from the actual paper PDF or official publication page. Do not guess or hallucinate author names based on similar-sounding names.1062. **Publication Venue**: Confirm the exact venue (conference/journal) and year. Papers may be submitted to one venue but published at another (e.g., ICLR submission → ICRA publication).1073. **Paper Title**: Use the exact title from the published version, not preprint titles which may differ.1084. **Cited Claims**: Every specific claim attributed to a paper (e.g., "9% improvement on Synthia", "4.7% on OpenImages") must be verifiable in the actual paper text. If a number cannot be confirmed, use qualitative language instead (e.g., "significant improvements").1095. **BibTeX Keys**: When updating citation keys, search for ALL references to the old key and update them consistently.110 111**Verification Process**:112 113- Use web search to find the official publication page (not just preprints)114- Cross-reference author names with the paper's author list115- DBLP is the authoritative source for CS publication metadata116- For specific numerical claims, locate the exact quote or table in the paper117- When uncertain, flag the citation for manual verification rather than guessing118- After adding citations into md or bibtex entries into biblio.bib, fact check all fields from web. Even if you performed fact check before, always do it again after writing the citation in the document.119 120Ask yourself: "Can I point to the exact page where this claim appears?"121
Terminal
git clone https://github.com/fcakyon/claude-codex-settings.git

One setup, four coding tools

A single, practical configuration that works across the tools you already use.

Claude CodeSettings, hooks, commands and agents
Codex CLIPlugins, skills and shared guidance
CursorPortable plugins and project rules
Gemini CLIExtensions, skills and shared guidance

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Claude Codeclaude plugin marketplace add fcakyon/claude-codex-settings
Codex CLIcodex plugin marketplace add fcakyon/claude-codex-settings

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